# Will cheap butane "ruin" a lighter?



## xray (Aug 18, 2011)

I've got some cheap lighters and lighters that I spent much more for ($40 - $50) range. Of course the more expensive lighters are much more reliable and usually light on the first try and overall work better than the cheap lighters. So far I've been using butane fuel that I believe I picked up a few years ago in the dollar store. The better lighters seem to be working excellently with even the cheap stuff. The cheap lighters work like one would expect a cheap lighter to work. If I continue to use cheap butane, will I eventually ruin a good lighter, or will I just have to purge it and fill it with the good stuff if a lighter stops performing up to par?


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

cheap as in crap or as in inexpensive? 

I know that most here will say to use triple filtered butane. I use Ronson Ultra and do not have any idea how many times it has been filtered, but it seems to work in my micro-torch, Zippo, Lotus and a few other lighters accrued over the years. Get it at the local drug store for around 6 bucks for the 5.8 oz can.


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## Beer Alchemist (Aug 17, 2011)

I got some butane that resulted in two lighters not working. I didn't try and purge them though as they were cheaper lighters so I just tossed them.


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## xray (Aug 18, 2011)

Fuzzy said:


> cheap as in crap or as in inexpensive?


Cheap as in inexpensive (like I said, I think I picked it up in a dollar store). I don't know if it qualifies as crap or not. It works fine for me, but if it ends up causing any damage in any way to a good lighter I guess it would qualify as being crap.



Beer Alchemist said:


> I got some butane that resulted in two lighters not working. I didn't try and purge them though as they were cheaper lighters so I just tossed them.


Well, I've had cheap lighters that have stopped working after a while also, but the question is: Is it because that's what cheap lighters eventually do or is it because we used cheap butane? More importantly, what will happen to a more expensive lighter if one continues to use the cheap stuff?


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## GregSS (Aug 12, 2010)

I used a can of Zippo fuel in a lighter that I had. Ruined it almost instantly

I use mostly Ronson lighters now and they get nothing but Ronson fuel. All 3 lighters work just as good as the day I got them.


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## stock93pgt (Jan 3, 2011)

i used to use ronson fuel, but my lighters worked likje crap after a while, and three of the are the ronson jet lighter from walmart! lol, but since i have changed to xikar fuel and madelaine, they all light better now, and i think hotter too?! i know i had a vector lighter and it was all clogged after yrs of use with ronson and i purge it and get every thing out and started to put the good stuff in there, it works! so yes, i use the good stuff lol


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

We run into this a lot on here and it's not about doing things on the "cheap" as much as it's about what is "best" and cheap is a word that gets bandied about on different terms. What it boils down to is this.....do you want your lighter to run at its best? When you do an oil change on your car do you put in 'cheap' oil or do you put in something that will protect vital engine components? If you spend good money on a lighter ($50 and up) why would you want to put cheap butane to run it and have the same expectations as if you put in 5X refined butane? In the long term cheap fuel is going to cause problems..clogged head, inferior fuel will attack the inner workings of the lighter because the reason behind triple and five times refined fuel is to remove contaminants...a big can of Vector costs pennies more than cheap butane...why skimp?


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## 68 Lotus (Jan 13, 2011)

Use Vector 5X and never have a problem! :nod: :ss


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## php007 (Sep 25, 2007)

68 Lotus said:


> Use Vector 5X and never have a problem! :nod: :ss


 Same here, never had a problem.


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## Nathan King (Nov 4, 2010)

Yes, as mentioned impurities found in cheap butane can clog the jets in your lighter. I use no less than quintuple refined butane in my lighters. Even premium butane is fairly inexpensive, so there really is no good reason to NOT get the good stuff, especially if you're feeding Duponts or other pricey brands.


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## Hot Lips (Dec 28, 2009)

Yes, butane can ruin a lighter. We fix a lot of lighters in the store and it's fairly easy to spot a Ronson user. oddly, we have had no problems with other cheap butanes on a regular basis (to be fair, it could just be that Ronson is the easiest to come by)

I've taken to using an alternate fuel every so often and it seems to help my lighter - you can watch it go from a slight sputter to a clean burn no matter which intitial butane I was using. In the store, we use Xikar and Vector.


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## Beer Alchemist (Aug 17, 2011)

xray said:


> Well, I've had cheap lighters that have stopped working after a while also, but the question is: Is it because that's what cheap lighters eventually do or is it because we used cheap butane? More importantly, what will happen to a more expensive lighter if one continues to use the cheap stuff?


I just got home so could look...I have some Bernzomatic that I picked up at Lowes. Both lighters I put it in worked immediately before adding, afterwards they did not work at all. I have never had this issue before with refilling lighters and couldn't find anything about that brand causing problems with my google-fu so I figure I got a bad can.


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## sengjc (Nov 15, 2010)

In short, no.

Only inadequately filtered and/or poor quality butane that contain heavies and corrosive chemicals will.


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## MaxTheBunny (Sep 6, 2011)

use quality butane . vector 5x is all I use now. the flame is noticeably stronger and you won't clog your lighter with impurities. strangely I've even had problems with xikar fuel. since then it's only vector for me. strongly recommend only using vector


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## jswaykos (Oct 26, 2010)

Sometimes I wonder not if cheap butane is to blame, but rather a cheap lighter. I use the same cheapy butane in a $8 torch and a $50 Xikar. The Xikar hasn't missed a beat (and has a lifetime warranty, anyway, so no real concerns on my end), but the cheapy crapped out after relatively low usage.


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## Hot Lips (Dec 28, 2009)

jswaykos said:


> Sometimes I wonder not if cheap butane is to blame, but rather a cheap lighter. I use the same cheapy butane in a $8 torch and a $50 Xikar. The Xikar hasn't missed a beat (and has a lifetime warranty, anyway, so no real concerns on my end), but the cheapy crapped out after relatively low usage.


I'd guess it's a combination - we have more Xikars than anything else come through for repairs (since we sell mroe of them) and many it's a butane issue. We can generally name the butane adn laugh as we remind them that we told them not to use it!


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## jswaykos (Oct 26, 2010)

Hot Lips said:


> I'd guess it's a combination - we have more Xikars than anything else come through for repairs (since we sell mroe of them) and many it's a butane issue. We can generally name the butane adn laugh as we remind them that we told them not to use it!


Fair enough! Like others have said - it's not like quality butane is THAT expensive.


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## Hermit (Aug 5, 2008)

68 Lotus said:


> Use Vector 5X and never have a problem! :nod: :ss


That's what I use.
I think it's well worth the small additional expense.


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## bopmachine (Aug 9, 2010)

Dunno guys been using ronson butane exclusively for the last 10 years or so. In my DuPonts, Xikars, Colbiri and ronson lighters. Never ever a problem. Just remember to purge before fueling.


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## Hot Lips (Dec 28, 2009)

bopmachine said:


> Dunno guys been using ronson butane exclusively for the last 10 years or so. In my DuPonts, Xikars, Colbiri and ronson lighters. Never ever a problem. Just remember to purge before fueling.


Glad to hear it - and of course it's possible that either of us is right. I do like hearing that though since it's so easy to find Ronson that many peoplke don't listen to our advice.


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## TheGeneral (Sep 16, 2011)

I tried ronson fuel in my ronson jet lighter and it just kind of stunk like literally. and i had the same thing happen when i put it in my zippo. i dont know if i got bad batches or i was doing it wrong or what but now i just use zippo fluid and a double purified butane.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

ive used ronson in my xikar and its been fine for almost a year now, *shrug*


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## lebz (Mar 26, 2011)

I started with cheap fluid.. but I ditched it. It wasn't lighting as well or keeping lit

I picked up some Colibiri butane and the lighter has been working sweet ever since

At the local shop the owner told me at first "just make surrey ou get some decent butane".. I didn't believe it at first but I know at first hand it didn't work so well


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## Stubby (Dec 6, 2010)

Coleman butane burned like crap in one of my lighters. It was all i could find while I was camping so I didn't have much choice. I got a lot of orange flame sputtering out of my lighter. Never again!


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## Old Man on the River (Sep 1, 2011)

I have always used Ronson and it has worked fine for me.


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## 36Bones (Aug 18, 2011)

At my B&M, I buy a 8oz cans of Xikar for $7.50. Not sure if it's the biggest can you can buy, but it lastes forever in my Jetlite.


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